Goalzone

Palladino: Twin wins on a great night for Watertown soccer By Joe Palladino Republican-American

WATERTOWN -- It was a near perfect evening for Watertown High soccer. In a Naugatuck Valley League tournament doubleheader that matched the Holy Cross and Watertown boys and girls in the semifinals, the evening was owned by the Indians. In the first of two games, the No. 2 Watertown girls dominated No. 3 Cross, 2-0. Then in game two, the No. 1 Watertown boys piled more of the same on the No. 4 Crusaders, 4-0.

The twin wins sent the Watertown boys and girls into the NVL championship games Saturday at Municipal Stadium. The girls meet top-seeded Woodland at 2 p.m., and the boys play No. 3 Torrington at 4 p.m.

Due to weather-related postponements and some site shuffling, the Indians were able to play home games in what is typically a neutral-site round. Did that affect the outcomes? Perhaps, but judging by the play of the Indians on Thursday, they could have won these games in a parking lot. Watertown was that good.

"We played probably our best this season," said Watertown central defender Amy Lamontagne.

Her team allowed only two shots for Holy Cross (10-7-1), and Indians keeper Ariana Hoxha needed to make just one save to record the shutout. The Watertown girls, meanwhile, blasted 16 shots at the Cross goal, and keeper Liz Sideravage made an acrobatic 11 saves.

On the boys side, the numbers were similar. Watertown held a 14-4 shot advantage, and Indians keeper Dave Hughes made two routine saves to earn the shutout. Cross' Luca DiCarlo stopped four.

As Enri Duka, who netted goals for the Indians, said, "Watertown played very good today. It was a good effort by everybody."

That was an understatement.

The girls got on the board in the 15th minute on superb combination passing. Becca Lopes started the play with a pass to a cutting Jill Hughson. She chipped the ball ahead to Lily Cotas, and the sophomore finished with a deft touch inside the post.

"Jill got it centrally, and I was in front of the goal," Cotas said. "I just had a nice little touch in the corner."

The clincher didn't come until the second half, in the 46th minute, and it was Hughson this time on a 25-yard blast.

"We have really worked hard to get the team together," Hughson said. "We kept the game composed and we kept it on the ground."

Watertown (14-4) seemed to win every ball and create acres of space in the attacking third. As Cotas added, "We played together. We didn't play individually, and that's the way it's supposed to be."

The Watertown boys got off quickly as well, banging a shot off the crossbar in the first minute. The first goal came in the ninth minute, started by a steal from Luigi Calabrese, who stepped in and picked the ball clean along the left touchline. Calabrese crossed the ball to a wide-open Mike Ricci. He had plenty of time to set his feet, pick his spot and slip a shot low inside the far post.

The Indians (16-0-2) got a cushion late in the first half when Calabrese was taken down in the penalty area. The penalty was awarded and Calabrese finished on the PK for the 2-0 lead.

In the second half, it was all Duka as the Watertown junior scored twice. The first came in the 64th minute as he whipped a shot off a John Good feed inside the post, and the second was in the 74th minute, a flick shot off a Costa Gakidis pass.

Holy Cross (13-4-1) got a bit more penetration in the second 40, but Watertown kept the potent Crusaders strikers away from Hughes.

"We have great confidence," Gakidis said of a Watertown defense that has allowed only six goals this season. "We don't mess around. We get the ball up when we need to, and if we have time we can possess back there and get it back through the middle."

Watertown rapidly went from defense to offense, and Holy Cross had to put a lot of bodies behind the ball, but even that did not slow Watertown.

"We have vital players in every position," Duka said. "The wings are great, John Good does a great job in the middle serving the ball, and everybody gets touches. This is not a one man team."

And so the Indians, all of them, the boys and the girls, move on to the NVL title games Saturday.

"We are definitely ready for the next game," Hughson said of the girls team, which plays for its third straight NVL title.

The boys are back in the title game, having lost in the final last season to Woodland.

"In the beginning of the season, we made a pact," Duka said, "that we're going to win this season, and I don't think there is anything that will hold us back."

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